Olympic lifting and isolation exercises?

[kickbackking]

I'm just wondering if Olympic lifters use any isolation exercises? If so which ones? and do you/they do it to assist in lifting heavier numbers in clean and jerk etc. or for looks as well?

[KingOfNorway]

dont know really. wouldnt be suprsed if they did some overhead shrugs and stuff to hit the traps. But im pretty sure it will be different for every olympic lifter, since everyone got their own weaknesses.

[Squinky]

They do, what I have heard, lots of situps. Also static holds for abs.

[GoJu]

they do supplementary ab work, and I've seen pics of lifters doing curls and extensions, rows with db's and kb's, things like that, but that would be probably be after all their o-lifts, pulls, and squats.

[raffiki]

They are mostly used rehab. Ab work is usually discontinued after a certain level is reached. After all, what are crunches and leg raises going to do that 500lb squats won't?

Basically if your squats won't go up, you need to look into your squat program, not add leg extensions.

[Dedicated1988]

isolation exercises are good to bring up specific weak points in your lift.

such that if your traps prevent you from stabilizing the weight as you snap it over your head in the snatch...you need more specific trap work, such as overhead shrugs, or one armed overhead shrugs with a DB.

[Big_fuzzy]

We do them for some fun and variety, occasioanlly do some curls and extensions and some shoulder stuff.

Just for fun.

[J.L.C.]

isolation exercises are good to bring up specific weak points in your lift.

such that if your traps prevent you from stabilizing the weight as you snap it over your head in the snatch...you need more specific trap work, such as overhead shrugs, or one armed overhead shrugs with a DB.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way.

Isolated movements aren't going to have very much carryover to the classical lifts. Shrugs have little relation to cleans or snatches. Especially since the main effect of shrugging during a lift is to pull your body under the weight, not to lift the bar higher or stabilize it.

In o-lifting, even the 'assistance' lifts are compound movements. The body works as a unit, not as separate parts - so why attempt to train individual muscles on their own?

If you have trouble stabilizing the weight overhead, overhead squats are a good way to go, and will have significantly more benefit than shrugs would.

[magicman531]

What is an overhead shrug?

[KingOfNorway]

hold the barbell overhead with a snatch (wide) grip and shrug it.

[Dedicated1988]

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way.

Isolated movements aren't going to have very much carryover to the classical lifts. Shrugs have little relation to cleans or snatches. Especially since the main effect of shrugging during a lift is to pull your body under the weight, not to lift the bar higher or stabilize it.

In o-lifting, even the 'assistance' lifts are compound movements. The body works as a unit, not as separate parts - so why attempt to train individual muscles on their own?

If you have trouble stabilizing the weight overhead, overhead squats are a good way to go, and will have significantly more benefit than shrugs would.

So your telling me that doing overhead shrugs, or heavy holds in a power rack don't help you stabilize weight at the top of the movement?

So what compound exercise can I use to fix that problem?

[KingOfNorway]

overhead shrugs will help. But for the stabilization part, you might aswell just do them without the shrug, which would be static snatch grip overhead holds. Ive seen o lifters do that.

[raffiki]

So your telling me that doing overhead shrugs, or heavy holds in a power rack don't help you stabilize weight at the top of the movement?

So what compound exercise can I use to fix that problem?

Are you saying that you are stable in the bottom position, but then you can't hold it at the top?

[Ibanez]

Unilateral movements are good for prehab and rehab.